Poverty, Homelessness at Center of Student-Faculty Experience in D.C.

CONWAY,
Ark. (July 7, 2017) – The day after Commencement 2017, five current Hendrix students
and five of the College’s most recent graduates began a service-learning trip
to Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and
Calling, the week-long trip included hands-on work serving those experiencing
poverty or homelessness, as well as learning how to carry out political
advocacy for those in need.

The
trip was hosted by The Pilgrimage, a nonprofit agency affiliated with The
Church of the Pilgrims, a Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation located near DuPont
Circle. From that home base, participants’ experiential learning centered on
urban poverty and homelessness, including:

An
orientation session with the National Coalition for the Homeless, with
individuals describing their experiences of being homeless and trying to pull
themselves out of homelessness

A
walking tour of D.C. with a community organizer who led discussion on
gentrification and displacement

Work
at sites arranged by The Pilgrimage: A Wider Circle, a nonprofit that collects
used furniture and redistributes it to people in low-income housing; DC Central
Kitchen, a nonprofit that prepares meals for people who are homeless; Seabury
Age-In-Place, a nonprofit that supports senior citizens so they can remain in
their homes; Charlie’s Place, a breakfast ministry and clothing closet for
people who are homeless; and Thrive DC, a nonprofit agency that provides
breakfast, take-away meals, and other services for people who are homeless

Meeting
with the Religious Action Center, a Jewish advocacy group focused on policy
issues

Visits
to the offices of Sen. Tom Cotton, Sen. John Boozman, and Rep. French Hill to
discuss refugee resettlement and other issues with staff members. In addition,
Hill was available for a brief introduction to the group.

Service-learning
trips often prompt students to examine their values, commitments, gifts, and
limitations.

“I
learned how deep the concept of social hierarchy is ingrained in me,” said Sai
Techawongtham ’19 of her experience on the D.C. trip. “Even when I constantly
remind myself of the Miller Center’s concept of equality, it is still extremely
difficult to get rid of the view that I’m a luckier and more well-off person
going out to help people who are at a lower social or economic status than me.”

Techawongtham
added that the trip helped her gain greater awareness of her outlook and
behaviors, and the power to change them.

“For
example, if I met someone who might seem to have come from a lower economic
status, I would remind myself: How would you treat this person if she or he were
someone from a very high status?” she said. “If my answer is different from the
way I’m about to treat that person in reality, I would adjust my view and try
to treat the person the same way I imagine myself treating someone from a high
status.”

Amid
learning how to work toward a just society in their own communities, the
students, new alumni, and professors spent time building community with each
other, and also had the opportunity to visit several D.C. monuments, the
Smithsonian, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and other sites in
the nation’s capital.

About Hendrix College

Hendrix
College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876
and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured
in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college
guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and
value. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.